What You Put in Your Body Affects Your Health Greatly

If your orthopaedic surgeon has decided the time has come to replace one of your degenerated hip joints, then these tips will help you manage your pain while you are waiting for your surgery day to arrive:

Pain Management Tip: Use Your Walking Aids All the Time

If your doctor has prescribed a cane or walker for you to use, then now is not the time to be vain or stoic and skip using it! These important walking aids are prescribed to make walking safer and also to give you an alternative place to rest your body weight other than on your sore hip joint. For the times you must walk around, use your cane or walker and let it take some of the weight off of your sore joint.

Pain Management Tip: Buy a Raised Toilet Seat

As you know, one of the things that likely hurt your hip the most is using the toilet. Since squatting and then standing from a squatting position puts a lot of stress on your damaged joint, you can greatly lessen your daily pain level by putting a raised seat on your toilet. These specialized seats raise up your toilet a few inches and save you a lot of effort when getting on and off of the toilet.  

Since raised toilet seats are considered to be medical devices, your doctor can write you a prescription for one, and your health insurance may cover its cost.

Pain Management Tip: Exercise Only in Water

Even though your hip hurts, exercise is still important to maintain the rest of your body's health. Rather than giving up on exercising until after your surgery, opt to exercise in a swimming pool or local lake. The buoyancy of the water will help keep your body's weight off of your sore hip, while at the same time giving the rest of your body the exercise it needs.

Pain Management Tip: Don't Discount the Assistance of Physical Therapy

Finally, if your orthopaedic doctor suggests you see a physical therapist to help you control your hip pain until your surgery date arrives, you should absolutely take advantage of this advice and schedule an appointment. Many people feel as if physical therapy can't help them because their joint is already permanently damaged, but there are many different exercises and other advice a physical therapist can give you that can greatly lessen your pain.